


Boiling point

by ravenclaw2490



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Romance, Smut, Teacher-Student Relationship, Young Severus Snape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:40:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29568348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclaw2490/pseuds/ravenclaw2490
Summary: Violet is in her 7th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The year is 1985, 4 years after the end of the war against Voldemort. 4 years after Lily Potter's death.Severus' wounds are fresh and his cruelty is biting. What it takes to heal is never what you expect.This fic takes place 4 years after the first downfall of Voldemort, Snape is 25. Not much canon will be mentioned other than stuff about Severus' past.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Reluctant progression

<Severus' POV>

Pacing around the office, Snape ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"I'm sorry Severus, but I am getting old you know," said Horace wearily.

"Yes, yes. I understand perfectly why you must retire but perhaps a little warning could have been helpful," Snape sighed bitterly.

"You know the curriculum better than I do Severus you know that, you are ready to take on all the classes now! I have faith in you."

"I didn't mean lesson preparations, Horace. I meant mental preparation." Snape muttered.

"Severus my boy, you can handle them. Dear Merlin, they're all too terrified of you anyway!" The old professor laughed.

"I suppose you're right." Snape finally admitted.

"Of course I'm right, now I'm sure you have some changes you want to make to the office before the youngsters arrive so I'll leave you be." With that Horace Slughorn shuffled quickly out of the office, as if he was afraid Severus might suddenly change his mind.

Severus sighed, taking on the full-time position as potions master would mean he would be less likely to get the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He huffed loudly. Like old Albus was ever going to give him that anyway. He straightened his robes decidedly and got to work reorganising the office.

The bell sounded for 6 o'clock before he knew it and he hurried himself along to the great hall to endure the first feast of the year.

<Violet's POV>

Raindrops slid down the window of the carriage, The weather was particularly miserable for early September and Violet felt it. It was her last year at Hogwarts. Normally she felt excited on the Hogwarts Express, a new year, new dorm room, new timetable, new subject topics. It didn't feel the same when she knew it was the last time. Sighing, Violet tried to take her mind off of the subject and thought instead of what new potions they'd be covering this year.

As the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, Violet took in a deep breath and stepped out into the fresh Scottish air. Her best friend Carmen had moved to back France to study at Beauxbatons for her last year. Violet was alone. She walked briskly towards the carriages wanting to head to her assigned dorm as soon as she could to escape the overwhelming bustle of the station. She stepped into the first cart and stumbled awkwardly into the last space to sit. A few eager second years and this year's head girl and boy looked at her with interest for a moment and then went back to their own conversations.

Her trunk landed with a thump on her bed, she was the first one in her dorm to arrive. Pulling out her wand, she muttered something to reverse her packing spell and watched as her clothes flew into her wardrobe, her books onto her shelf, and her toiletries into her drawers. Once emptied, she shoved the trunk under her bed and lay back on the fresh navy blue sheets. In that moment, a small tear fell down her temple and into her auburn hair. She felt so lonely already. A bustle of noise came from the corridor and Violet sat up quickly before the other girls wandered into the room. She recognised them as Lucy Simmons, Tabitha Yew, and Georgia Vice. Nice girls, too popular to be her friends. She smiled politely at them and they returned the gesture and got about unpacking their own trunks. Since there was still 30 minutes until the feast Violet decided to take a stroll around the grounds of Hogwarts, the rain had stopped and she needed something to ground her.

A small breeze whipped around her as she walked. Pulling her cloak tighter around herself, she let her hair whip around freely in the wind, enjoying the feeling. With a smile, she recognised her usual reading spot and sat herself down gently. A tune that was playing on the muggle radio in Kings Cross station danced merrily in her mind and she hummed it quietly to herself as she stared at the Great Lake. Suddenly she heard the bell tell her it was 6 o'clock and she jumped up to hurry to dinner.

<Severus' POV>

Severus scowled as he cast a tempus and realised he was already 5 minutes late to the feast. Picking up his pace he didn't see the person coming around the corner before she was colliding with him. He fell back and steadied himself on the wall whereas the girl fell clumsily onto the cold stone floor.

"Oh Merlin I'm so sorry Sir I was late and I-"

"Silence girl, I am fine" Snape interrupted her. The girl fell silent. As he looked down, to his surprise, when he met her piercing blue eyes suddenly electric shocks jolted through his body. Startled he quickly whipped his cloak around and glided away.

<Violet's POV>

Violet remained sat there for a few seconds, trying to recover herself from how flustered she felt. Slowly she picked herself up off of the cool floor, straightened out her robes, and headed into the hall.

Silently she sat herself down at the Ravenclaw table and looked up to see if Professor Snape looked annoyed. To her surprise, he was staring right back at her in almost bewilderment before his eyes glazed over and his usual cool expression took its place. She looked away without thinking too much of it.

One by one, the first years were sorted into their houses and as Violet watched she felt a pang of nostalgia fill her, they had all their years at Hogwarts to look forward to, she remembered how that felt. Not only was this Violet's last year, but she was also turning 18 on the 7th, Saturday. This Saturday. She was already an adult in the Wizarding world but in her mind, as a half-blood, the age which she felt was "adulthood" was 18. She was considering staying on for an apprenticeship at Hogwarts but the only subject she wanted to pursue was potions and Slughorn had denied all applications in recent years due to his approaching retirement. As for Snape, well she had rarely been taught by him but she knew it wasn't likely that he'd be willing to take on an apprentice. So this looked like her last year at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and began walking up to the podium. Violet looked up with bored eyes to the silver-haired wizard and listened as he gave his annual speech. Once the food appeared Violet didn't feel very hungry and placed only a serving of vegetables and potatoes on her plate and a dash of onion gravy. She sipped on her water and looked up at the enchanted ceiling. The sky was cloudy tonight. Where were the stars when she needed them? She pushed her barely picked-at plate of food away and walked out of the hall. She did not feel the eyes that lingered on her as she left.

<Severus' POV>

Lying in bed in his chambers, Severus chased sleep but, as usual, it eluded him. He couldn't get that girl out of his mind. Did she remind him of Lily? No. This girl was frail, waif-like. Her eyes were blue, not green and her hair was almost bronze, not like the bright fiery locks that Lily has... had. The girl's name escaped him, he recognised her face vaguely from the handful of classes he had taught over the last 4 years. She was a Ravenclaw, he knew that from her uniform.

With his mind still on the Ravenclaw girl, he drifted to sleep.

The bell rang for 6 o'clock and he dragged himself out of bed. He wandered sleepily to the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. His garish war scars screamed at him, they had faded somewhat but marks like these, cursed marks, would never go away completely. Just like his dark-mark. It was a grey colour, like a faded tattoo. He had hoped it would disappear once Voldemort had gone. But there it was still, a constant reminder of his past mistakes, and who he had lost. He leant one hand on the sink and ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to wrestle with the bad case of bed head he had woken up with. He considered casting a quick glamour due to the large bags under his eyes but he decided that they were probably a permanent part of his face now and left them as they were.

As he thought about the day ahead his thoughts once again returned to the girl from the corridor. Her eyes still lingering in his mind. He had a 7th-year NEWT class at the end of the day, he wondered if she would be in it.  
  
Shaking his head he decided to give no more thought to the girl and her effect on him. He dressed in his usual black robes and set off for breakfast.  
  
  
  


<Violet's POV>

As the bell rang Violet groaned and turned over to shield herself from the daylight that pierced through her bedcurtains. At least the weather was nicer today she thought. Reluctantly, she pulled back her covers and rolled out of bed. She threw her robes on haphazardly and quickly carried out her routine makeup and hair spells, brushing her teeth quickly in between. Once she was somewhat satisfied with her appearance she headed down the many stairs of Ravenclaw tower towards breakfast, daydreaming of the hot cup of coffee that awaited her.

She sat down with an unsatisfying thud and hunched over the table. Violet was not a morning person. She never ate in the mornings, the thought of food this early made her feel ill. Instead, she held both hands around a large and appropriately navy blue mug, inside which contained the best coffee she had ever tried. Everything tasted nicer at Hogwarts. Once the caffeine kicked in and Violet felt a little more spritely, she picked herself up and headed off for an early morning stroll in the sun. She still had an hour until Transfiguration started so she took her time.

As she walked rays of sunlight kissed her face and a warm breeze wrapped around her tenderly like a passing lover. Violet sighed contentedly as she sat down on a bench by the lake, which was glittering in the early morning sun. Closing her eyes, she felt herself sink into the moment. In her mind, she suddenly saw the deep onyx eyes of the potions professor. Her eyes fluttered open in shock. She had always found the young professor attractive, in a dark and brooding way, but never had she felt like this. The feeling overwhelmed her body, like sparks of light dancing through her nerves. She shook her head and brushed it off as some sort of hormonal reaction. She knew at her age it was natural to feel overwhelmed by feelings of a certain nature. She paid no further mind to it and set off for her first class of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked that! Leave me feedback in the comments below -I'd love to hear some. More Violet x Snape interactions coming I promise!


	2. Pleasant surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of classes and Severus has had enough, until a certain someone steps into his classroom.

<Severus' POV>

The day dragged on as first days usually do. By 6th period he was getting very tired of the whole "introductions to the school year" ordeal. All that kept him going was the promise of a glass of firewhiskey after dinner. And perhaps a nice book, he thought.

So there he sat, hunched over a desk that was probably older than his grandparents, waiting for the last crowd of miscreants to wander aimlessly into his classroom. Few by few they scattered through the door, mostly Ravenclaws and Slytherins, this wasn't a surprise to him -potions was the hardest subject at Hogwarts. Then he saw her, the girl from yesterday. As his eyes met hers he felt that familiar shock. The girl blushed and looked down, stumbling over to an empty bench.

Once they were all seated Severus cleared his throat and began, "Since this is the first time I have properly taught all of you I will need a reminder of names, I will call out the register and you will respond with "yes sir" and raise your hand, is that clear?"

"Yes sir." The class echoed.

"Very good." Snape read the names one by one, looking up each time to see who matched which name. The class was relatively small so it didn't take him long to reach-

"Violet Sylph."

"Yes sir," a soft voice replied. He looked up to see a pale hand raised tentatively in the air. Violet, Violet Sylph. It suited her, it was pretty. Before the silence was too long he read out the last few names and began to start the lesson.

"Since you're all 7th-year NEWT students I'll assume you're competent enough to manage without an introductory lesson. A copy of the curriculum plan for this year can be found on the desk in front of you. As you can see, presuming you can all read, today's lesson is marked as the beginning of most potent poisons. Therefore I should not have to remind you not to drink anything you brew over the next set of lessons. Or do. I am a firm believer in natural selection after all." Severus paused to look out across the classroom. The faces of some keen and some obviously bored students stared back. Violet's eyes, bright and large with attention glittered in the low light of the dungeon. He sighed and continued.

"I will now demonstrate the new slicing techniques you are required to know for this chapter, you will follow along with the ingredients in front of you. Once you are done stay seated until I can check your work, if it is to a satisfactory level then I will dismiss you. Your homework will be to research the potion we will be preparing in Wednesday's class. Be warned, the portion of ingredients you have in front of you is all you have, therefore there is not much room for retries. Are there any questions?" Severus paused and scanned the students. One Slytherin boy had his hand up.

"Yes, Mr Ramsbottom?"

"Uh Sir what potion is it that we're meant to read about for the homework?"

"Mr Ramsbottom can you read?" Severus asked.

"Erm yes sir."

"Ah very good, could you tell me what it says on the piece of parchment in front of you under the subtitle 'Wednesday the 4th of September'?"

"It says erm 'Death-cap draught' sir."

"Well then, I do hope in future, Mr Ramsbottom, you learn to use your eyes instead of opening your mouth."

"Yes sir." The boy said defeatedly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Violet smiling, obviously trying to hold back laughter. He smirked very slightly and then quickly turned to write out the slicing techniques on the blackboard.

<Violet's POV>

His presence was overwhelming. The way he dominated a classroom, strode commandingly and spoke clearly with a voice like burnt velvet. She was mesmerised. As she watched his slender hands skillfully slice the ingredients she almost struggled to follow along, getting distracted by the grace in his movements rather than focusing on the technique. Even still she was one of the first to finish. She sat patiently with her hand half-raised in the air to call him over to check her work. She watched the moment when he noticed her and sucked in a shaky breath as he glided towards her. Why the hell did she feel like this? He was her professor for Merlin's sake! He stood behind her, she could ever so slightly feel his cloak brush against her. She shivered and felt an ache in her core.

"Very good Miss Sylph, I am pleasantly surprised at your skill level."

Violet felt his voice reach deep within her, she gasped ever so slightly.

"Thank you sir," She replied meekly.

"Once you have cleared your things away you may leave."

"Yes sir, thank you sir." She stuttered. Snape moved onto another student and Violet exhaled in relief. This year was going to be difficult if she didn't get over this schoolgirl crush soon. With care, she tidied her things away and set off for some fresh air to clear her head.

Once she reached her usual bench she reached into her bag and removed a pack of cigarettes, she noticed she was running low and made a mental note to pick up some more when she headed to Hogsmeade this weekend. She lit her cigarette and took a deep drag. She sighed as she exhaled, sinking back into the bench and looking out across the lake which glowed in the afternoon sun.

Casting a quick tempus she saw that the time was already 4:30 pm so she set off to the library to do today's homework before dinner.

Once dinner passed she returned to the library to finish her potions research. The Hogwarts library, although plentiful, rarely reached the level of potions research that Violet would have liked. After scouring the shelves for a good hour she set off decidedly for the dungeons. Slughorn never minded lending her a potions text or two, why would Snape be any different? Nerves overtook her as she approached the office, with a shaky hand she knocked lightly on the old wooden door.

"Enter." Commanded a familiar voice. Tentatively she opened the door.

"Goodevening sir I was wondering if you had any books on poisons?" She said in almost a whisper.

"Speak up Miss Sylph."

"Im sorry sir, do you have any books on poisons, that I might borrow - if that's okay..." She trailed off.

"Miss Sylph you are aware that Hogwarts has a library?" Snape drawled sarcastically.

"Yes sir but I often find there's a limited number of high level potions texts, in the unrestricted section that is. It's just that professor Slughorn would lend me potions texts from time to time and I was hoping you could do the same- its totally fine if not! I have already done the amount of research that I can and I-"

"You wish to borrow a book from my collection?" Snape interrupted.

"Yes sir, if that's okay with you." She said with a small smile.

"Very well, I shall see what I have, wait here one moment." With a flick of his wand he opened a small wooden door at the back of the room and ducked through, leaving Violet standing awkwardly in the cold office. She shivered and wrapped her cloak tightly around herself in an attempt to stay warm. Curiously, she looked around the room. It was quite cramped and almost gloomy. But it was cosy, in a way an old library in an abandoned house might be. She decided she liked it.

Snape walked in holding two books, thick battered tomes that looked well-loved. He stood there awkwardly for a second just looking at her before clearing his throat.

"This one," He said, handing her the first book, "Is 'Deadly Draughts and their Deviancies', it will tell you all you need to know and more about the potions we are covering in this topic. However, this one," He handed her the second tome, "Is 'Brews: Bizarre and Bewildering', if -like me- you are interested in potions research and rare effects, then you'll find this one particularly interesting. There is no rush to return them, when you are done you are welcome to ask for more."

Violet was taken aback, "Wow, thank you so much sir! I really appreciate this."

"They are only books Miss Sylph, besides, you are clearly a talented student and I would be lacking as a teacher if I did not encourage you to pursue knowledge," Snape said matter-of-factly.

"I still appreciate it all the same sir. Have a nice evening."

"Goodnight Miss Sylph."

As Violet left she felt stunned, her few experiences with Snape had left her thinking he was cold and uncaring. Everyone knew Snape was not to be messed with. But after that Violet felt like they'd got him wrong, he could be nice if he wanted to. She walked briskly up to Ravenclaw tower, excited to read her new books, and perhaps daydream about her professor a little too.

<Severus' POV>

Severus was in his happy place, one hand around a glass tumbler of firewhiskey, the other holding a rare and interesting book. Yet he didn't feel at peace, his mind kept wandering back to Violet and his interaction with her earlier this evening. He decided he just needed a good release and headed to the shower.

Relishing in the feeling of the hot water on his back, he began to wash. Reaching lower, he felt that he was already half erect. Whilst touching himself, he closed his eyes and began to replay the familiar memories of his few sexual encounters. An experimental kiss from Lily as young teens. Up against the wall with the dark-haired witch that he met in a muggle bar. In bed on top of a golden-haired witch from Voldemort's army. Then suddenly, her. Her bright blue eyes were staring up at him instead. She was smiling sweetly, her eyes rolling back in pleasure. Her alabaster skin was flushed slightly pink from arousal and her soft voice moaned. The orgasm exploded through him and as he came he leant, exhausted against the shower wall. That was unexpected, he thought. He quickly washed his hair and stepped out of the shower. Too tired to dry his hair, he muttered a quick-drying spell and threw on a pair of boxers. Finally, he climbed into his bed and -much quicker than usual- he fell alseep.

<Violet's POV>

Violet was wandering down an unfamiliar corridor. This was a part of the castle she'd never seen before, she didn't question it and continued walking in the low light. Hopefully she would find somewhere she recognised soon.

"What are you doing out of bed Miss Sylph?" Questioned that familiar velvety voice. Violet spun around.

"I- I don't know, Im trying to find my way back to-"

"Shush." Snape silenced her. Violet stood there frozen, she'd never been caught out of bed before.

"Do you know how much you bewitch me, Violet?" She gasped at the use of her first name, it rolled off his tongue so effortlessly.

"There's no need to make fun of me sir, I can't help but react the way I do around you. I-"

"You think I am joking?" He took a slow step towards her, "You really don't see how beautiful you are, do you?" Violet could only stare, eyes wide. Slowly, Snape closed the space between them and lifted her chin up with one slender finger. She could feel his breath on her face, it smelt faintly of firewhiskey. She moved upwards to meet his lips, planting a soft tender kiss. Their lips crashed together, her hands were in his hair, his around her waist. She moaned sweetly.

"Fuck witch," He whispered, "What are you doing to me?"

Violet woke abruptly. She sighed and sank back into her pillow, disappointed that it was just a dream. Who was she kidding, there was no way a guy like professor Snape would want her.

She cast a tempus charm, the time was 5:30am. She decided she needed some fresh air, and a cigarette or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 already! This one is a little more explicit... Let me know what you thought!


End file.
